The results from the first round of the e-textbook
pilot program from Internet2 and Educause showed students liked the savings and
portability of digital content, but weren’t as thrilled with the reading experience
or the fact that instructors often failed to use collaborative features built
into the platform.
This fall, the program has been expanded from the
original five schools to 26 nationwide, with each paying between $20,000 and
$35,000 to collect feedback from the fall 2012 semester. While the 2012 pilots
use McGraw-Hill Education e-titles on the Courseload software platform to
replace paper books, Internet2 and Educause are planning a new test next year
using multiple platforms and publishers.
“It’s important for higher education and, most
importantly, for students to have options going forward,” said Shel Waggener,
senior vice president for Internet2, in a Center for Digital Education article.
“Now, we have the option to rethink the integration of content with the
pedagogy with collaboration between students in very new ways.”
The pilots provide a way for the industry to work out
issues such as accessibility, according to Waggener, who encourages other
universities to jump on the e-textbook bandwagon.
“Universities should not sit on the sidelines and wait
for this to become resolved because resolution is not going to be absolute;
it’s going to be a continuum, and we all need to have a stake in the game to
influence the outcomes,” he said.
Weggener acknowledged the college store in his “do and
don’t” list in a blog post at Educause Review Online. Even though the reference is a “don’t,” his
suggestions providesome thoughts stores might want to focus on. Since stores
are not often invited to participate and more than half of the institutions in
the fall 2012 pilot have independent campus stores, collegiate retailers need
to find ways to be part of the discussion.
